Eternal Sunshine of a Ronless Mind
by yvj
Summary: Kim and Ron undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that Kim discovers what they had to begin with. ONESHOT
1. Eternal Sunshine

A/N Ok this fic is an adaption of a movie (and the script) called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind staring Jim Carrey (check it out it's good). It was pretty freaking hard to write too because I had to capture the essence of the movie/script and the KP characters.

I think I was decently successful in doing that (there is a bit of OOCness). And I tried to write this in a really simplistic style because well I thought the story flowed better that way. So enjoy. This is a one shot and actually my first non "Ron-Centric" fic

* * *

To him, it looks like every other waiting room in every other doctor's office that he had ever been in; dated magazines on the end tables, a really dried out potted plant in the corner, and generic paintings of beaches and sailboats on the wall. Rom thumbs through a few magazines when the receptionist, a cute petite blond, approaches him. 

"May I help you?"

He takes a deep breath. "I've got a three o'clock appointment with Dr. Mnemosyne."

She checks her clipboard. "Yes, come with me."

The receptionist leads Ron down a narrow hallway with more generic paintings lining the walls.

"So how are you today?" she asks with professional courtesy.

He smiles, a twinkle still in his seemingly weary eyes. "I have seen better days, that's for sure."

"Here we are." They enter Mnemosyne's office, and the doctor steps out from behind his desk.

"Mr. Stoppable, welcome."

Ron walks in and the receptionist closes the door behind him, leaving him and the doctor alone in the room.

"Would you please have a seat." Mnemosyne directs Ron to a chair before his desk. Ron sits down and his gaze falls onto a conveniently placed box of tissues on the coffee table besides his chair.

"How are you today?"

He shrugs. "I've been better."

Mnemosyne points to the tape recorder on his desk. "You don't mind if I turn this on, do you?"

"Nah I'm cool……" he sighs.

"Why don't you tell me what's going on?

"Okay, I broke up with my G.F."

"GF?"

"My, uh, longtime girlfriend, she'd been part of my life forever, and I mean forever. We met when I was four and were best friends for the next twelve years. Then things began to change."

"For the better?"

"Yes…..yes it was. But right now it doesn't really feel that way, you know?"

Mnemosyne nods patiently. He seems attentive, pleasant, though the doctor's complete neutrality disturbs Ron a little.

Ron ran his hands across the back of his neck. "Maybe I've seen too many movies. You know, the Sleepless in Seattle's, the Harry Met Sally's, maybe I've got a completely unrealistic view on what a relationship is or should be. But man, I thought...I could have sworn this was a forever-ever-thing. I know I'm not the brightest guy in the world but I just thought….." Ron lowers his head and turns his gaze away from the good doctor.

"I think I understand. I believe we can help. Why don't you start by telling me more about your relationship? Everything you can think of, everything about her, everything about you. And we'll take it from there."

Ron reflects on the question. "Well, first of all, she's the neat one in the relationship."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Two months later: Upperton Train Station**

From the platform bench, Kim watches as the business commuters stuff themselves into an already packed train. They push and squeeze for any inch of space they can get, and not one of them seems to be having a comfortable experience.

The train doors somehow manage to close, and it slowly begins to depart.

_I'm supposed to be on that train._

She doesn't move an inch from her seat.

The train pulls out in a roar, as Kim glances around. The platform is empty; she's apparently the only one left. She reaches into her backpack, pulls out a tiny 7x5 inch notebook, and begins to write.

_March 15__th__ I missed my train today….well I didn't really miss it. I wasn't late I just didn't feel like getting on. I was supposed to meet Monique and Jake downtown. Monique's been trying to set me up with Jake for awhile because I've been in a bit of a weird funk for like a month now. I just keep dropping in and out of these phases of depression, and I have no idea why. I've never really been depressed before and it's a strange experience. I saw a documentary on rodents on Animal Planet last week and I just started crying. I didn't stop crying until the show ended, and I'm not really a crier. Last night, mom said people naturally go through these phases in different periods of their life. Anyway I guess Monique thinks Jake can get me through this, keep my mind off what's bugging me. Whatever that is…_

An almost empty train pulls into the station.

_Jake is alright I guess…reminds me a bit of Josh from high school, handsome, artistic, cool…a little too into himself…a wee bit dull…..maybe not dull but guys like that are a dime a dozen I think….The weird thing is, I would have been all over this guy in high school….I wonder what's changed since then?_

NEXT STOP MIDDLETON

Kim looks up from her notebook and glimpses at the train. She stands up, and steps forward. The train doors begin to close, and she panics. She sprints towards the train and manages to stick her arm in between the doors. They immediately pop back open and she slides through. The door closes and through the dirty window she watches as the train slowly slips away from the empty station.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Train: Later **

_I'm on my way to Middleton and I have no idea why. No one would be home, my parents are away and my brothers should be in school. Maybe I just need to get away_ _from Upperton for at least a day. Maybe I can figure out what's wrong with me. I feel kind of bad about ditching Monique but I'm pretty sure this thing with Jake wouldn't work out. Just like the thing with Patrick. I'll just tell her I had a mission and I couldn't get back in time. I'll tell her I was somewhere far like Japan._

Kim pauses for a moment.

_I don't remember having a mission there but something about Japan just got to me. There's something about Japan I should know but I'm drawing a blank._

She stops when a drop of liquid falls onto the page. She instinctively cranes her neck towards the ceiling but after a quick inspection she realizes there is no leak.

"Where did this water coming from?"

Unconsciously, she traces her hand across her face and discovers the trail of liquid that the tear had left on her cheek.

"What's wrong with me?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Bright Horizons Children Center: Middleton Pre-K**

Kim leans against the fence encircling the preschool's playground. The wind howls around her and she shivers before reaching once again for her notebook.

_I haven't been here in years. All of my memories of pre-k are vague at best. I doubt I can remember any of my teacher's names. It's weird, but I feel that something important happened here. Or maybe not. If it was so important, I would have remembered it, right? I've always had a pretty good memory_.

She glances up, and spots a male figure walking into the playground with a duffel bag in his hand. He wears a red hooded sweatshirt and brown cargo pants. She sees strands of blond hair peeking through his hood. He walks towards the jungle gym, stops, and stares at it.

Another cold breeze sends chills up and down her back. "On to the next stop of the tour," she mutters to herself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Bueno Nacho: Later that day **

She was starving and something in her was screaming for some Bueno Nacho.

"Kim, it's been awhile" Ned says with a smile.

_He knows my name? Okay, that's not so far fetched, I am kind of famous…Better just let it slide. _

"Hi, I'll have a Caesar salad."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She turns towards the voice. And to her surprise, there standing behind her is the boy she had seen in the park earlier.

_What a coincidence._

"And why not?" she asks curiously.

"Haven't you heard the reports of people getting sick off the lettuce being used in fast food restaurants? There's like an epidemic of food poisoning that's being linked to lettuce leaves."

'This is news to me, where did you see these reports?"

"America's Food Weekly. It's an independent newsletter dedicated to disclosing all the latest fast food news 'the man' doesn't want you to know about."

"There's a newsletter dedicated to Bueno Nacho and other fast food places?" she asks surprised.

She notices the mischievous twinkle in his hazel eyes. "There better be, I've been sending in editorials for the past three weeks. It would be a shame if I was wasting my time."

"Okay, what are the chances I get some of this tainted lettuce?"

"You don't want to know, just be glad you're not a rabbit." He takes a gander at the menus up on the wall. "If I cared about what I was putting into my body, I would go with the fruit parfait instead of the salad."

"That sounds pretty good actually." Kim turns to Ned who had remained surprisingly speechless throughout their conversation. "I'll have the fruit parfait."

"I..." he looks at Kim, and then back at the boy, and suddenly he's on the verge of tears. "I can't do this…." He sniffs. "Joe, you're wanted at register three," Ned shouts into the microphone besides the register, before running off.

"What's the deal with him?"

The blond shakes his head. "Poor guy has always been a little off."

The employee known as Joe arrives, takes Kim's order and hands it to her a minute or so later.

She turns to the blond young man "thanks for the heads up."

"Glad to help."

Kim steps off the line and walks away. He glances sideways at her before stepping up to the register.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Train**:

"HmmMmmm…..So I don't mind if they don't understand, when I look at you and you hold my hand - 'Cause they don't know about us….and they've never heard of love."

_Stupid songs stuck in my brain_

Kim sings under her breath in the far end of the empty car while she scribbles various notes in her diary. She tears her face from the notebook just as the doors between cars opens and the boy from Bueno Nacho enters. He picks out a seat on the opposite end of the car. He settles there for a second before turning his head towards her.

Kim looks out the window. The train lurches forward, she checks out the slowly passing, densely wooded area outside.

She can feel him watching her.

"Hey," he calls out over the roar of the train.

She looks over at him. "Excuse me?"

He sighs, stands up, and makes his way down the aisle towards her. "Um, is it okay if I sit here?" He points to a seat close to her.

"Um..."

He stops in the middle of the car. "I don't want to bug you or anything, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Go right ahead."

He takes a seat. "Hi, I'm Ron Stoppable."

"Nice to meet you Ron, I'm Kim Possible."

"Kim Possible," he repeats softly. "Uh Kim, I don't usually walk up to girls like this but, um, have we met before?"

She blinks a few times. "How weird, I was getting that same vibe from you."

"Really, do you shop at Smarty Mart? I work there... well, I used to work there."

Kim shakes her head indignantly. "I wouldn't be caught dead shopping ther…" she catches herself mid sentence. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that…."

Ron nods. "Yeah, you did, but don't worry about it. I kind of have a roll with the punches attitude towards life."

"No offense but Smarty Mart is just so…"

"Discounty?" He says finishing her sentence.

"Right, that's exactly what I was thinking."

"You shop at Club Banana, dontcha?"

"Of course…..What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That smirk, you smirked when I said I shop at Club Banana."

"I hate to sound like a commercial but the thing is, you can get a lot of the same clothes at Smarty Mart for a cheaper price."

"Uh no, they are so not the same clothes. There are major differences between Club Banana and Smarty Mart merch."

Ron chuckles. "You're kind of a retail snob."

"I am so not…." A massive wave of deja-vu washes over her.

"Are you sure you weren't at Smarty Mart a few weeks ago? I could swear I saw you there."

"Sorry, but I'm pretty sure I have not been in a Smart Mart recently."

"Huh."

"Maybe you saw someone who looked like me?"

He rests his chin on his hands. "You're famous right? You've been on T.V?"

"A couple of times, you know, for saving the world and stuff."

"Kim Possible, saving the world, that does ring a bell…..You do it alone?"

"Actually a super genius friend of mine helps me out with a robotic sidekick. Though it'll malfunction every once in a while, then it's all me. Sometimes I wish I had a dependable person made of flesh watching my back."

"Right" He nods as he continues to stare intently at her.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, no," he says quickly jumping too his feet. "Anyway I'm sorry I bothered you."

'No, it's fine."

"I probably have been very annoying," he makes a move to leave.

"Hmm…you don't….seem annoying," she says quickly.

He stops. She continues. "At least not on the surface," she tells him jokingly.

"Oh, so what do I seem like?"

"You seem…..nice."

"Nice, what does that even mean?" he snickers. "I kind of wish you said I seem like a jerk, at least that would be a definite answer."

"What's wrong with nice?"

"It's so noncommittal, there's nothing special about nice. When people see something nice they go 'oh that's nice' and then they walk away from it. I mean, will you really miss someone or something who is just nice?"

"Fine, you're not nice, you're uh…" she searches her mind for an adjective no one would object too. "You're normal."

"Normal, I'm not normal."

"Really?"

"Never be normal, that's my motto!"

"Huh,"

"Yeah," Ron replies as he struggles with a wave of deja vu

The conductor enters the car, and Kim hands him her ticket. The conductor punches it and hands it back. Ron follows suit. When the conductor heads to the next car, Ron gets up to his feet.

"Thanks for letting me sit down, and for the chat, and for calling me nice. The truth is I really have no problem with being called nice. I'm perfectly fine with nice."

"No big."

Another pause "Okay, I'll just….well bye." He walks back down the aisle to his original seat. He sits down and stares out the window.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"432 Eastern Plaza."

Kim settles in the backseat as the cab jerks forward into traffic. She is about to reach into her back pack again when the cab passes by Ron, who is sitting alone on a bus stop bench.

She can see him shivering from the cold.

"Stop the car." The cab comes to a halt and she rolls down the window. "Hey, you want to share a cab?"

Ron's head swivels from the left to the right. "You're talking to me?"

"Are you serious, there's no one else there."

He blushes, he's clearly embarrassed. "I just didn't want to assume anything."

"Are you coming or not?"

"Oh okay, yeah, that's great." He grabs his duffel bag and hustles towards the cab.

Kim slides over when he enters. "Thanks, I don't know if I could have lasted another minute out there."

"Where to?" she asks.

"Oh 163 Bergen Street," he announces to the cab driver.

"Bergen Street, that's a nice neighborhood."

"My best friend lives there. I'm spending a couple of weeks with him before I move to Japan."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I got some kind of important 'job' lined up over there. I don't see a lot of prospects for me here in the states," he says sadly. "Listen, thanks for putting up with me back there."

"It's fine, I should apologize again for that Smarty Mart sitch."

"Don't worry about it, I take self esteem lessons from the weather. It doesn't pay attention to criticism."

She smiles. They stare at each other for an instant before simultaneously turning away. Kim goes back to her diary and Ron keeps his eyes out the window. The cabdriver meanwhile turns on the radio.

_Things wrong with my life right now._

_1)Recently I've been falling into sporadic bouts of depression_

_2)I don't have a clue what I'm depressed about.._

_3)I still can't shave my legs without cutting myself_

_4)Sometimes I feel lonely even when I'm not…..and I have no idea why._

"Oh, girl. I'd be in trouble if you left me now. 'Cause I don't know where to look for love, I just don't know how."

_Am I really depressed or I am dealing with one of the other emotions you have when you can't conjure up any of the good ones_?

Kim lifts her head when she realizes that the singing was coming from beside her instead of just from the radio.

With his gaze still outside the window Ron continues to sing barely above a whisper. "Oh, girl, how I depend on you, to give me love when I need it. Right on time you would always be." He suddenly lowers his head and she sees the tears forming in his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

He sniffs and swipes at his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

'I've been a bit of a wreck lately. Certain songs just set me off for no reason."

**Oh, giiiirrrrlllll…..Pain will double if you leave me now. 'Cause I don't know where to look for love, and I don't, I don't know hooooooow**!!

"Oh geez," Ron runs his hands across his face.

"Did you have a bad breakup recently? If you don't mind me asking"

"No…..well I was seeing this girl for a couple of days….it was going along fine until one day, I was sitting across from her at Bueno Nacho and it just didn't feel right. It's not like I believe a hundred percent in all that soul mate stuff but…. I mean, I liked her and she was cool to me but I didn't feel it…which is weird because a guy like me should leech on to anything I can get," he sniffs.

"Maybe it affected you more than you think?"

"Well that wasn't my only battle with heart break, I almost got a psychic girlfriend last week………but she left me before we met."

Kim chuckles softly. "That was awful…..whoa what the heck is that?" She points at the highly suspicious movements in his pants.

"Oh, don't worry that's just my main bud Rufus. Come on out dude."

To Kim's chagrin, a hairless rodent popped out from his pocket, yawned, and stretched out its body.

"Um….what kind of animal is it?"

"He's a naked mole rat, also known as the Sand Puppy; or Desert Mole Rat. It is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa and the only species currently classified in genus Heterocephalus."

"Okay" she says simply

"I like animals. I think I might have been a platypus in a past life, but I don' believe in reincarnation. Do you?"

"Not really"

"I mean, I don't have anything against the idea of reincarnation, I just personally would not want to do 'this' all over again. I couldn't imagine another round of school, I walked down the hallways of my elementary school with my head on a swivel….and I'm rambling for no reason...Rufus, let me introduce you to Kim Possible."

The pink animal's jaw literally dropped when it spotted her. It rubbed its eyeballs and she could swear she heard an 'oh no' escape from its lips.

"Rufus, what's the problem?"

"Nothing," it squeaked before diving back into Ron's pocket.

"I don't know why he's acting so weird," He tells her after spending a futile five minutes attempting to coax his pet back out. "He took one look at you and freaked out."

"Maybe he's shy?"

"No, he's never acted like this before." He studies her face. "Well it's his loss," he whispers softly.

"Did you say something?"

"No," he continues to stare.

"Something wrong?" She asks again

He shrugs. "There's always something wrong. That's what life is all about I think."

She turns away. "You might be right. I've got problems of my own as well."

"Oh yeah?"

"I'm depressed."

"About what?"

'I don't know."

"I don't know might be the most honest answer ever. Do we really know anything?" He thinks for a second. "I feel like I should be depressed, but I might be too oblivious to the rest of the world to know exactly how awful I should really feel."

"I….think…..I miss someone."

He tries to hide the crestfallen look on his face "Boyfriend?"

"No…I..." Her cell phone interrupts her. She snatches it out of her pocket and flips it open. Ron in turn attempts to concentrate on the music blaring from the car stereo.

"Okay, bye mom." She hangs up.

"Nice phone."

"Thanks." She slips the phone back into her pocket. "I don't have a boyfriend," she says rapidly.

"Hmmmm?"

"I uh... haven't really had anything close to a real boyfriend for like…ever."

Ron remains silent for awhile. "That's a shame."

The cab comes to a screeching halt forcing Ron's face to smack into the back of the passenger side seat. "163 Bergen Street," the driver declares nonchalantly.

Ron massages his forehead. "Well this is me. Thanks for sharing the ride."

"You've already thanked me."

"Oh I know, I just, okay." He pays the cabbie and opens the car door. "Well see ya."

"Take care," Kim says.

Ron closes the door and starts to walk away but suddenly turns back. "Hey um…"

"Yes?" Kim inquires.

"Nothing, never mind, sorry. Good night."

The cab begins to roll forward and Kim prepares to make another entry in her diary when…..

"Wait, wait!" Running along side of the cab, Ron manages to stick his arms into the open car window. He is moments away from being dragged when the cab stops and he falls forward.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The cabdriver screams at him.

"I'm sorry dude," Ron huffs. "Wait, let me catch my breath." He doubles over and gasps for air.

Kim sticks her head out the window. "Are you alright?"

He puts up a hand. "One moment." He inhales, exhales and then straightens out his body. "Listen, this may seem strange, since we haven't known each other for more then a few hours, and I'm probably coming on way too strong, but I think I like you, actually I'm pretty sure I like you. And I'm wondering if you're doing anything this weekend."

She looks at him really hard for a long moment.

"Okay, I may have come off as weird but I feel something between us……."

"Shhhhhhh." Kim flips to an empty page in her diary scribbles her phone number, and hands it to him. "I think...I like weird."

He stands there frozen for a moment. He seems surprised, pleased and nervous. "Badical," he squeaks. So, I enjoyed meeting you." He says shyly.

"You'll call me, right?"

"Oh yeah definitely."

"When?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Tonight might work."

"I can do that."

"Are you two love birds done?" the cabdriver grumbles.

"Oh sorry," Ron backs away from the cab, "the meter is still running."

Kim waves goodbye as the car rolls away from the curb. She hears an optimistic booyah right before the cab gets out of earshot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Five weeks earlier: Night **

"Come on, come on."

Kim struggles with her keys at the door of her apartment building. She fumbles them as she takes a quick glance over her shoulder. She spots a white van parked across the street.

_**It's them.**_

She eventually locates the right key and hurries into the building. Once in her apartment she stealthily peeks out the window.

_**There were two of them. And they seemed so causal about the whole thing.**_

She sees two dark figures step out of the van onto the street. One stretches and tosses a cigarette into the street. The second one scans the building, looks directly at her window and waves.

_**This is supposed to be serious.**_

"Maybe I'm making a huge mistake. Maybe I just need to learn to deal with this. I've faced death plenty of times. I should be able to handle this."

The colors of the room suddenly begin to fade. Everything around her seems to wash out and run together. But Kim is unaware of this; she stares at a small vial on her kitchen table. She takes the vial and dumps a small pill from it into her open palm.

_**It was pink like Rufus.**_

"I have to go through with this. I have no choice."

Kim swallows the pill, walks into her bedroom and slips under the warm covers of her bed. She pulls her panderoo close with one hand and picks up the wireless phone on her nightstand with the other. She pushes the first button on her speed dial.

"Ah Boo-yah, you've reached Ron Stoppable. I'm not home right now or I'm screening this call, either way…….."

"It's your fault Ron, you did this."

"You're talking to a machine. So leave your message at the sound of the beat…I mean beep…yea beep.

"Goodbye Ron." Kim hangs up, lies onto her back, and she hears people walking about in the other areas of the apartment.

_**They're here, it's too late. **_

Her eyelids get heavy. She closes her eyes. Footsteps are approaching her bedroom; the room is a former shell of itself. It is now depleted of life and all color.

"Crud."

Darkness

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kim runs her hand against her forehead. She's stumbles forward, confused and disorientated. She glances down at her hand and notices that she is still holding the small vial in one hand and her panderoo in the other. Surprised she lets them both fall onto the floor.

She looks about to find that she is in Smarty Mart. And down the same aisle she was currently in, Ron was placing cereal boxes onto a shelf.

Kim heads towards him. "Ron, I need to talk to you."

_Yes, we need to talk; we can fix this if we just talk. Then you'll remember._

"I want to tell you I love you and that every time I said it I meant it. If you let me explain everything, how much you mean to me, how much we meant to each other. Just let me tell you everything, then you'll understand," she mutters to herself as she stumbles closer to him.

_You couldn't have forgotten about me, forgotten everything we've been through, it's impossible_. _I'll just explain, I'll explain and you'll remember. _

Ron turns towards her before she can say anything. "Can I help you miss?" he asks with a polite smile.

She stands before him paralyzed with grief.

"Roonnnnnieee." An overtly cheerful girl about Kim's age approaches them. "Huge news; I got two tickets to the first screening of the new Fearless Ferret movie."

"No way!" Ron exclaims forgetting about Kim.

The girl squeals and throws herself into Ron's arms. "We totally have to be the first ones in line."

"No doubt!" he stares happily into her face.

_But Ron, that's your look for me._

Kim watches as Ron and the girl exchange flirtatious comments. As she stands there, the cereal boxes are turning arid and ashen.

"Ron, how could you do this?" Kim asks.

The shelves aren't the only thing being affected. Ron and the new girl seem to be becoming lifeless by the second.

"What's going on here?" Kim's gaze goes to a clock on the wall. "Six thirty…I'm going to miss them!" She turns to leave the dilapidated scene.

"Ron, how could you?" she cries while she sprints towards her building later that night. "I can't believe you did it." She digs into her pocket.

"Come on, come on."

She struggles with her keys at the door of her apartment building. She fumbles them as she takes a quick glance over her shoulder. She spots a white van parked across the street.

"It's them."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kim slowly traces her fingers over her senior prom photo. In the photo, Ron has an arm around her waist, his face just exuding happiness. She too couldn't look anymore pleased.

She sighs; her eyes are red and puffy. It's evident that she's been crying. She releases her tight grip on the photo's frame and watches as it falls slowly into a large black plastic trash bag. She kneels over and closes the bag with a tight knot and then tugs it towards the door of her now empty apartment, where two similar bags were waiting.

An hour later, Kim is sitting alongside her mother in the waiting room of a doctor's office, the three trash bags lying by her feet.

"Kim sweetie, I know in the end only you can decide what to do with your life. But are you absolutely sure about this?"

Kim remains silent as the receptionist approaches. "Hello, I'm Jenny." She takes notice of the bags "Good, you have your stuff, please follow me."

They drag the three bags after the receptionist down the narrow hallway to Dr. Mnemosyne's office.

"Ah Ms. Possible," Mnemosyne says as he stands up. Another man stood beside his desk, he was also wearing a lab coat. "This is Bill, he'll be in charge of your procedure tonight."

The man nods professionally. "Ms. Possible."

"How is this supposed to work?" Kim asks

Mnemosyne begins to speak but his tone of voice is monotonous and barren. The carpet beneath their feet begins to dry out. Mnemosyne's prestigious diplomas slowly fade into the wall and the lamp on his desk starts to melt.

"We'll start with your most recent memories and go backwards. There is an emotional core to each of our memories. As we eradicate this core, it starts its degradation process. By the time you wake up in the morning, all memories we've targeted will have withered and disappeared."

"Will there be any permanent damage to her brain Doctor?" Anne queried.

Mnemosyne smiled. "Well technically, the procedure itself is a variation of brain damage. The same as a night of extensive drinking. But nothing will happen to any of your other memories. Only the ones we target will be replaced or simply deleted. Nothing you'll miss…..Mrs. Possible I assure you, I'll treat your daughter as if she was my own."

"What about these protests I have been hearing about?"

"Certain people do not believe in the ethics of our work. But I believe that I am helping people start over, to create a new slate for themselves….."

Kim looks quizzically at the eroding environment. "Wait a minute, it's happening now! I'm already in my brain."

Anne and the doctors scan the room. "Well I guess you're right….So let's get started," he says, seemingly uninterested in his melting office. "If you would please follow me."

"This is your last chance honey," Anne whispers to her daughter who is now strapped to an reclining chair, electrodes running from her head to some electronic machinery being monitored by Mnemosyne.

"I'll be fine mom. This is what I want."

"We use the articles you brought to create, a map of Ron in your brain. Tonight while you sleep we'll be able to trace the map and erase or replace." Mnemosyne states.

"Wait a minute, I thought this was already happening? Haven't you already started erasing?"

Mnemosyne pulls out a pile of coupons from one of Kim's bags, and shows it to her. The equipment registers Kim's reaction.

"Very good," Mnemosyne says.

He pulls out a plastic wrapping with bits of nacho cheese on it. Kim studies it. The machines register her response.

"We'll dispose of these mementos when we're done here."

Mnemosyne pulls out a red jersey Kim looks at the shirt, the machines once again beeps.

"GREAT, WE'RE RIGHT ON TRACK."

Kim searches the room. She can hear Bill's voice but he's nowhere to be found. The room however is now distorted and wispy.

"HEY CRAIG, JIGGLE THAT CABLE A LITTLE OKAY."

Kim looks up, the voice seems to be coming from above.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Kim's apartment:**

Kim still lies beneath her covers, her panderoo pinned under one arm. Her eyes are closed and electrodes connect her head to several machines. Bill sits at the hub of these machines in front of a large monitor. The other intern Craig sits before a smaller monitor, his hands running across a keyboard, as Bill fiddles with a joystick.

"Hmmm, the connections seem fine."

Craig flips a few switches on the side of his monitor. "Does that help?"

Bill squints at the monitor. "I think so. Look like this one is going to be rough"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Middleton: Bueno Nacho: **

"Ron!"

His head snaps towards the voice. "I'm sorry I was just in daze." He smiles at the girl sitting across from him in the booth.

"Are you okay, you look a little pale?"

He sighs. "I haven't been getting enough sleep. I keep having these weird and vague nightmares." He brings his naco to his mouth. "I try to remember them but I always end up with nothing."

"Oh I know what will cheer up my beau, an extra large sundae. Would you like that?"

"Please and thank you." He drops his naco immediately after saying it.

"Something wrong Ron?"

"No, no, but I'm going to go to the bathroom."

Ron runs his hands under the sink, collects a handful of water and splashes it across his face. "Crud, I look like heck," he says as he stares at himself in the mirror.

"Yo Ron," He whirls his head around to see Ned enter the bathroom. "Didn't know you were here, how's Ki---Aaaaiiiiieeee um Gloria, Gloria is her name right?"

Ron nods. "Whose name were you about to say before that?"

"No one's," he quickly changes the subject "hey did you hear, chimmurritos are going to be half off next week. It's an unadvertised sale."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, if you subscribe to that newsletter I told you about. You'll know all kinds of stuff at least two weeks before the public." Ned tells him before ducking into a bathroom stall.

"Hey Gloria guess what?" Ron exclaims as he slides back into the booth "Chimmurritos are going to be half off next week."

"Really, spankin!"

"Wha…what did you just say?"

"Spankin?"

Ron closes his eyes and attempts to understand the tugging he feels in his very soul. When he reopens his eyes Gloria is staring at him.

"Are you sure your…."

"I'm fine," he says quickly returning to his food. "I'm fine."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kim and Mnemosyne sit across from each other in his office. She looks down at the tape recorder on his desk.

"I'm sorry you saw one of our notification cards. You never should have."

"Well... I did."

"I can help you through this. Why don't you start now by telling me everything you can remember about your relationship with Ron Stoppable."

She thinks, then, "Things just got really out of hand…."

"WHAT THE HELL? THIS THING IS NOT RUNNING AS SMOOTHLY AS IT SHOULD."

Kim looks up, trying to locate the voice.

"So we'll need you to go home and bring in everything you ever received from Ron and anything that might reminds you of him..."

She brings her attention back to the doctor "Huh?"

Everything in the room is faded and disappearing fast. In the blink of eye it's all gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How could he be so immature? I mean he just walked past me!"

"It's okay girl" Monique says as she tries to console her friend. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."

Kim practically jumps off Monique's couch "Didn't mean it? We were in the same store I looked right at him, okay we've broken up and he had his headphones on but that's no excuse for a snub! I should go over to his house and…."

"Kim I don't think you should do that."

"What? Monique I don't think you get it, he snubbed me!" She sits back down. "It….it just hurt so much…I never thought he'd be that cruel."

Monique sighs.

"And…...I was starting to think that maybe it was a mistake….."

"Kim, you're going to have to move on."

"What?"

Monique stands up and leaves the room. When she returns she's holding onto a small card. "Here." Kim takes the card

_Ronald Stoppable has had Kimberly Anne Possible erased from his memory. Please never mention their relationship to him again. Thank you._

"They sent one of these to everyone Ron knows."

Kim stares at the card incredulously. "They can't just erase memories, can they?"

"Yes they can. I looked them up, it's legit."

"No but he wouldn't, he couldn't, he can't!"

Monique nods sadly. "He did….It was a couple days after he saw you at the party with Patrick."

"But…but ….Patrick wasn't…….anything…..we were broken up and he…it didn't mean anything…..he reminded me a little of Ron," she says distressingly.

"I'm sorry Kim."

"No, it can't, everything we've had…." She reaches for the phone "I've got to call him."

Monique snatches the phone away from her "You can't tell him, Kim. He's like a sleepwalker. They say it might have a devastating effect."

"But what am I supposed to do?"

"You've got to move on."

"So I've got to keep all these memories, all these years, the love, the affection, desire and need, trapped inside of me. I'm supposed to act like they never existed?"

Monique walks over to Kim and embraces her. Kim tries to fight back the tears but she can't keep it together. She weeps into the shoulders of her friend.

The environment around her disintegrates into nothingness.


	2. Part 2

* * *

"So you've been staying at home?" 

"Yep."

**This is the last time we actually spoke.**

"I haven't really been fair. So I thought we should talk, you have to know I feel terrible. This is hard, you know."

"Good," Ron replies childishly.

Silence

He flops down onto her couch. She continues to stand.

"Is it because I'm still working at Smarty Mart? Cuz you know I'm basically a manager and it's still hard to get another job even with a bachelor."

She rolls her eyes. "Do you really think that? That this is happening because you're not making enough money? Come on, give me some credit."

"I don't know. It's one of the things I thought of."

"What were the others?"

"The usual."

"What's the usual?"

"You know."

"Ron, this has nothing to do with anyone else. You know that, don't you?"

His eyes narrow. "I never said anything like that."

"You're thinking it though."

"You can read my mind now?"

She crosses her arms over her chest. "Come on Ron, don't be so childish."

A flash of anger appears on his face and then it's gone.

"Ron, I think we needed this break. We weren't really getting along or even talking very much anymore. And I'm at the point of my life where I want to sort myself out for the future, and I can't see that happening with you right now, when you can't even sort yourself out."

Ron made a repulsively comic snorting noise to express his disbelief.

"Come on, you said it yourself that you thought about it."

Ron shook his head vigorously. "No, no. no you totally tricked me. You asked if I thought about breaking up and seeing someone. And I said no, but you said 'come on, people in relationships do think about it once in awhile'. You kept bothering me until I said yeah, I thought about it, because Barkin told me this girl Gloria at work had a crush on me. I didn't say I would do it, I didn't say I wanted it, I just said I thought about it…"

**Wait, I remember this then he said…..**

"But it's all clear now, its further proof that you've probably wanted out for a long time."

Kim bristles at the comment.

"Anyway I think…."

"Is there any chance we can get back together?"

**There was a chance, there was always a chance. But I was really angry.**

"I don't know."

"You don't know, that means there's a chance."

"I don't know if there is a chance."

"Just because you don't know if there is a chance. That doesn't mean there isn't any."

'Ron, would you shut up! I'm trying to say that I might be a bit confused and I haven't been happy for awhile. We fight all the time over stupid stuff, and we're stuck in a terrible mess here. Can't you see that?"

He chuckles. "I'm shocked you usually have a clear battle plan in your head. This half-hearted I- need-time bull is kind of insulting, if you're going to dump me at least go for the whole she-bang."

"I'm not dumping you….."

He stands up. "You don't have to patronize me, we're not going out anymore."

"Maybe if you acted a little more mature, I wouldn't have to patronize you all the time."

This shuts Ron up. He is clearly stung and heads for the door.

Kim is immediately sorry for what she has said. "I'm sorry. Okay. I didn't mean that. I just... I was just... tweaked, I guess."

Ron ignores her and walks out the door and eventually out of the building and into the street.

"Ron, don't be like this. I said I was sorry, we can't let things be like this."

"Just leave me alone," he says without turning around.

She stops and looks around. The sky is drab and dreary; the city itself resembles an oil painting. The world around them is dissolving into nothingness.

"Look at it out here. It's falling apart. I'm erasing you. By morning you'll be gone. And it won't hurt anymore!

THIS IS WEIRD.

Kim looks up, startled.

WHAT'S THE MATTER BILL?

IT'S USUALLY NEVER THIS DIFFICULT.

REALLY? THIS IS MY FRST GIG.

I'VE ONLY HAD PROBLEMS TWICE IN ALL MY CASES.

ONLY TWICE?

On the faded street Kim listens to Bill and Craig.

THE FIRST TIME WAS JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO. COINCIDENTALLY IT WAS HER EX.

JESUS, ARE YOU SERIOUS?

TOTALLY, I RECONGNIZE HIS PROFILE.

WHAT A COINCIDENCE!

ISN'T THAT WHAT I JUST SAID? YEAH, BUT HIS CASE WASN'T ANYWHERE NEAR AS EXTREME AS THIS. WHAT IS UP WITH THESE TWO?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ron sits alone in front of the tube, a Swanson's TV dinner rests on his lap. Kim walks into the room.

She rubs her forehead; she seems to be having a headache. She looks stressed out and tired "How can you watch this trash?"

Ron looks at her curiously. "You know, we used to watch this together all the time."

"Well," she says without missing a beat, "can you lower the volume I've some serious…"

"Work to do," he finishes for her. "I know." He stands up.

"Where are you going?"

"Anywhere. Just about anything is more fun without you these days." He slips on his jacket and heads out the door. Kim watches him leave. The environment quickly degenerates. The room fades.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kim and Ron maneuver in between a crowd of people as they traverse through a packed mall.

She walks slightly ahead of Ron, both of them have frustrated looks on their face.

"Let's get married."

She stops and turns around. "What?"

"Let's get married, I want to get married, do the whole family thing."

"I know what you're thinking and it's crazy. Marriage is not the solution to our problems."

"We're having problems now?"

"I don't want to talk about this now."

"If we're having any problems it's because of you. Besides a few missions, we barely hang out anymore."

"You know. I just started this important job. If I don't work my tail off, those more than likely sexist jerks, I call bosses will never give me any respect."

"Just consider it, alright."

"I don't think we are ready for marriage."

"Who's the 'we' in that sentence? You're the one shooting it down without even thinking about it."

She stops again and whirls towards him. She is annoyed. "Ron, do you honestly think you're ready for that?"

**Why did it end up like this? It's cruel.**

He glares at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Let's talk about this later," she mumbles.

"Whoa, you're just going to say something like that to me and walk away?"

"Okay, I know it sounded harsh……look….I've been really stressed out lately."

"I can't believe….."

Ron is now inaudible his lips move but there is still no sound. He becomes increasingly pale by the second. But the pain still registers on his face.

**Thank God it's going. Just go away.**

He continues to rant as people vanish around them. The mall is quickly becoming deserted.

"It's going, Ron. All the hurt and disappointment, it's all going away."

Ron steps forward. "Good."

Kim is surprised. "What?"

"It won't hurt anymore, I'm glad."

Their eyes lock, Ron is fading before her very eyes.

"Yeah."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So I'll see you at work then?"

"Sure," Kim says to the young man.

Kim and Ron sit at a small table in a small outdoor café. He gazes down at the menu as Kim chats with a colleagues from work.

"Catch you later then." Kim smiles as the young man walks away.

Ron takes a sip of soda. "Well he seems……successful."

"Don't start this again Ron…." she says.

"Real friendly chap……is it me or does everyone you work with happen to be the successful, handsome type."

"So perceptive, yet you didn't notice the lamp you knocked over yesterday."

Ron sits back in his chair, his fingers tapping on the table. "Did you notice that he didn't say hello or goodbye to me?"

**I guess I didn't.**

"Wade is going to be updating your Ronmunicator."

Ron begins to skim through the menu. "Oh great, I look forward to anything having to do with the missions. Because it's the only time I see you."

Kim takes a sip of water. "On a related note, I won't be able to go to Felix's party. I just got a boatload of work dumped on me today."

"That's fine……hopefully Wade can get me the communicator in time, you know, so I can be ready for a mission, when you need me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Stoppable home:**

"Son, son!"

Ron awakens with a start and completely falls of his parents couch. "What? What?"

"Son, you're shouting in your sleep," Mr. Stoppable tells him.

"Really? What was I saying?"

His father looks away. "I don't know, you were mumbling."

Ron inhales and exhales. "I can't believe I passed out on the couch, how long was I out?"

"You came back from your date about two hours ago."

Ron climbs back onto the couch. "Dad, can I ask you something?"

Mr. Stoppable sits down besides his son and places his right hand on Ron's shoulders. "Go right ahead."

"Have you ever felt suddenly lonesome and lost, as if all of your senses and emotions have vanished and were replaced by some horrifying web of repressed, unyielding sadness, leaving you with the sense that you've been lost for your entire life?"

Mr. Stoppable removes his hands from his son's shoulder. He takes a deep breath. "No son I can't honestly say that I have"

"Oh….well" He lowers his head "I'm going to uh…go out for a walk."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kim and Ron sit in front of the TV, half a carton of Chinese food is on the coffee table before them.

"Who was on the phone?"

"Work."

"Was it Fraaaaaankkk?" he says sarcastically.

She sighs. "Actually, it was."

He turns towards her. He obviously wants to say something but he goes back to the TV. "How's the chicken?"

**How did it get this bad?**

"Good."

There's a silence.

"How's the fish?" she asks

The room is fading.

"It's good."

They continue to eat in silence as everything dissolves.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ron and Kim are sitting in bed, Kim focuses on the laptop besides her. Ron is talking, in a robotic manner. She's not really paying attention. The memory is already in the midst of being erased.

Ron seems frustrated and annoyed.

Kim lifts her head. "Ron, I've got a deadline in the morning, this is important to me."

"That's important to you? OK." He gets up and leaves.

The scene is faded completely now and Kim just lies there for a moment, registering his statement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Kim's apartment**

Bill watches the blinking lights on the computer screen. "I think we've got things under control now." He moves the joystick around.

"Oh yeah?" Craig exclaims

"How about we speed things up?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Under the illuminating light of a few candles Kim stares up into Ron's hazel eyes as he strains above her, drops of his sweat pooling on her chest.

She digs her fingers into the back of his neck and gasps.

"I love it when you say that," he grins.

At the moment of the intense explosion, their breaths bonded into a single gasp that bordered on a cry.

He collapses into her body and nuzzles against her face. She can feel his smile on her cheek. Kim begins to softly caress his hair when she hears a soft mumble.

"Are you talking to yourself?"

He picks his head up. "Actually I was…"

"What?"

"I guess I was praying."

Her eyes widened a little. "Praying about what?"

"You'll think it's stupid."

"I won't, and even if I do, I'd still lie to you about it." She snickers. "Now tell me."

"I was just thinking, well, as you were lying there, I just thought that I should thank somebody, for…..you. I would have never admitted it but I never really thought something great would ever happen to me in life….but here you are."

"Oh Ron," she reaches up and kisses him tenderly on the right eye, the cheeks and finally the lips.

Her face is tear-streaked when it hits the pillow again. Ron's gentle face is beginning to disappear.

"No, I don't want this anymore. I want to wake up" she says as darkness envelopes them

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"KP, I must say you have an exquisite rear end." They are hiking along a creek through the woods. Kim walks up front.

"Thanks, no one's ever called my butt exquisite before. You don't have such a bad looking backside yourself."

"Well, I've been told I have the butt of a sixteen year old."

She laughs. "Who told you that?"

"It was that weird old dude who works at the gas station. Technically, he didn't tell me, he kind of just muttered it under his breath."

"Creepiness aside, he has good taste."

Ron looks around. "Of course our escape pod would land in the middle of the woods."

"Would you rather we have landed in a densely populated city?"

"Touché…..you know, we barely made it out of that space station before it exploded."

"Yeah, Dementor really stepped up his game this time."

"Right….it got me thinking and uh, I'm pretty sure I love you."

She stops and he walks past her. "You don't have to say anything, I don't want to put you on the spot. I just wanted to get it off my chest."

She grabs his hand, and looks weakly into his eyes, to see if he is joking, to see if there was real affection there, affection aimed only at her. Then she felt a sudden rush of elation shoot through her like a drug.

"Ron I…they're erasing you, Ron," she says softly

"Huh?"

"I…I hired them to. We're in my mind. But I want it to stop, before I wake up and don't know you anymore."

"Are you sure?"

"You had the same procedure to erase me, and I didn't….I didn't want to carry it all by myself."

"That's crazy I wouldn't…..I would totally do that…I'm that whacked…..Um, well... can't you just force yourself awake?"

She closes her eyes and tries to concentrate. "Aaargh! I can't! I'm trapped!" She doesn't even get to reopen her eyes when the darkness comes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kim's eyes pop open when she is whipped violently into a wall.

"What's the matter with you princess? You seem to be off today."

Shego leaps at Kim with a flying kick. Kim dodges the attack and Shego strikes the wall.

"Where's Ron?"

Shego attacks with a flurry of punches "He's got his hands full with Dr. D. You on the other hand need to keep your head in the game."

Kim catches Shego by both of her wrists and lifts them up over her head.

"Wha……?"

"I don't have time for this" Kim shouts angrily before side kicking her arch enemy into a collection of wooden crates.

"Ron, where are you?" She runs off, and finds herself sprinting through a series of decayed memories.

She and Ron laughing and holding hands at a movie; eating cereal together in bed, arguing over an upturned toilet seat, Kim smiling to herself and stroking Ron's hair in the back of freight plane as he sleeps quietly on her lap.

Suddenly she's returned to the decayed version of her first meeting with Mnemosyne

"We can help you through this. Why don't you start now by telling me everything you can remember about…"

"You have to stop this!"

"Huh?"

"You've got to stop! Everything I've ever loved is being erased!"

"I understand, but... I'm just something you're imagining. I'm in your head; too, I can't really do anything about it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It's raining out.

The main members of Team Possible snuggle together in the furthest corner of the tree house. Ron looks at her and gently squeezes her hand

**I realized I truly loved you on this day but I just didn't say anything. I love this memory. The rain and us.**

Ron's eyebrow furrows in thought. "Maybe you can hide me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... if they're looking for me in memories I'm in, what if you take me to a memory I'm not in? And we can hide there till morning."

Kim ponders this "I can't really think of a memory without you."

"Awwww, that is really sweet but…" The tree house starts to degrade and wash out "we've got to do something quick."

"Let's go." Kim grabs Ron's hand. She pulls him to the entrance of the tree house and they leap out of the memory as it degrades.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Kim's Bedroom:**

"Whoa, it stopped?"

Craig swivels his head towards Bill. "What?"

"It's not erasing, she's off the grid!"

"Where?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be panicking."

Bill begins to fiddle anxiously with the equipment. "Oh crap, crap, crap." He jerks the joystick spastically. "Okay, let's not panic….let's focus; she couldn't have gotten that far." A complex and detailed map of the human brain appears on the screen before him. "Let's do a Spectrum search throughout her memory, maybe we can find something."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Where are we?"

"Shhh" Kim places her hand over Ron's mouth. "He'll hear us." She grins. "I've got to be around two-three years old. I'm so excited I don't know what I want most, for him to find me or not."

They lay under a bed surrounded by dozens of undersized dolls. Weirdly enough, they're adults but small, and Kim is currently wearing care bear footsie pajamas.

"Where's my little Kimmie Cub?" James Possible whispers as he tiptoes around the bed.

"Kim, Kimmie, look... it's not fading, the memory. I think we're hidden."

"Good, I don't want to lose you Ron."

"Gotcha!" Mr. P reaches under the bed and snags Kim by both legs. She squeals in delight as he slides her out.

"Tickle attack"

Kim laughs out loud as her father's fingers dance on the bottom of her feet.

"Honey, could you come down here for a minute?"

"Oooops, looks like papa bear is being called by mamma bear." James pats Kim on the head "I'll be right back sweetie."

Kim respires. "Oh man, I forgot how fun that was."

Ron rolls out from under the bed and ends up beside her. "Booyah, we're okay. You'll remember me in the morning. You'll come to me and tell me about us and we'll start over."

"Spankin." She pulls him closer. Her lips touch his seconds before the entire room is enveloped in a flash of white.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Middleton:**

Ron runs his hand through his hair as he wanders down the empty street. He berates himself for not recalling his dream and leans against a lamp post. He glances up, spots a female figure in the distance walking down the block in the opposite direction. Her red hair stands out against the dark and gray of the city.

He starts after her, a slow pace at first. He wonders for a second why his hands are damp, or better yet, why they're shaking. But by now he's up to a full trot. He's beginning to close the distance between them.

"E….excuse me….miss."

He's in a panicked run now, rushing actually. "Miss?" When he gets close he taps her on the shoulder. "Miss?"

The woman spins towards him. "Yes?"

"Whoa!"

He didn't know what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this. The 'woman' for the lack of a better word had the most chiseled jaw he had ever seen. And the red hair was obviously a wig.

Ron steps back. "Um, I'm sorry, I thought you were someone...someone I guess."

'She' batted 'her' fake eyelashes at him. "Strange, this is the third time this has happened to me today!"

"Sure…..sorry." He lets out a breath as he watches "her" walk away.

_This is Felix Renton, I'm not home right now; so please leave your message at the beep._

Ron places his head against the window pane of the phone booth. "Felix dude, I'm totally bonkers man. I want to see someone but I don't know who, I want to ask someone to hold me, but I don't know who. I know there's supposed to be someone but there isn't. I spend most of my time feeling like I've made some huge mistake and who ever I desperately want to and need to hold does not exist in this world."

He pauses. "Hey, I'm rambling like a crazy person……I don't know what's my problem, I got an ok job, a chick that digs me, it's all good isn't it?" He waited for an answer that he knew wouldn't come "You remember that school I was telling you about, Yamanouchi, the one that sent me that letter. I've been thinking maybe I might go, it might help sort me out."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Kim's Bedroom**

"Okay, we're back." Bill whoops.

Craig looks up from his monitor. "Thank goodness, I think I'm in the wrong line of work. This job is way too stressful."

"You can quit in the morning. But for now, we need to keep alert. If we screw this up, we've got one hell of a lawsuit on our hands."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Go, Go Mad Dogs, Go, Go Mad Dogs!"

"Timeout Mad Dogs!" The referee shouts over the roar of the crowd.

The Middleton Mad Dogs huddle around Barkin as he screams out instructions. Ron deftly separates himself from the team and makes his way to the cheerleaders.

"The plan didn't work Ron. They found us!"

"Hide me somewhere deeper. Somewhere buried, something you really blocked out."

The crowd is already starting to disappear by large amounts. "Ok!" She yanks him by the arm and they bolt to the exit.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It's not quite dark but it's close.

Kim's bedroom is illuminated only by the dim light coming from a large red scented candle on her nightstand. Kim herself is in bed under the cover and Ron stands over her.

He examines the calendar on her wall. "Hey, this is only a few weeks before our graduation." He freezes when he observes some furtive movement going on under her comforter.

"Kim what are you doing?" He's puzzled at first, but the low moan that escapes her lips confirms his suspicions.

He laughs. "Oh my god KP!"

"Shut up! I don't like it either, but I'm just trying to find a humiliating secret place that I blocke- uh…..mmmmm ohhhhh Ronnie."

"YES!" Ron exclaims "I knew it, I so knew it, I am the greatest!"

"Mmmm shut up... oooooooo...yes!"

"Hey, I'm just glad I wasn't the only one……"

Without warning her bedroom door swings open and Jim and Tim leap into the room. "Kim!"

Ron cringes. "Oh, you didn't lock the door."

Kim pulls the covers over hear head. "Tweebs!!" she yells at the top of her lungs. "GET OUT!"

"Wait, have you seen our----

"OUT!"

Ron laughs again.

There is a bright flash and everything is gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kim and Ron are laughing as she blows out the candle on a slice of cheesecake in front of her. Ron hands her a small wrapped box.

"Um, happy sixth month anniversary."

"Awww," she unwraps the gift, "you shouldn't have. Thanks Ron." She removes a necklace from the box. "Oh, Ron, it's beautiful! You know, you're the first guy who ever bought me a piece of jewelry."

"First and last hopefully."

She notices he's starting to fade.

"I searched like every mall in Upperton for it."

"I love it!"

He leans across the table to kiss her. She grabs him and they run through the atrophied restaurant scene, into the blurry night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Kim!"

She picks her head up from the water fountain. "Hey Walter," she beams.

Ron stands beside her. "Hey, that's ole what's-his-face!"

"Yesterday was pretty weird wasn't it?" the preteen boy says.

"Yeah, who knew braces could get caught together?"

They laugh awkwardly, unable to look each other in the eye they gawk at each other's shoes.

**He was my first sort of crush.**

"This happened over ten years ago, yet I'm still feeling the pangs of jealousy. I've got insecurity issues."

"It's a good thing Ron was there too. If his mom didn't drive us to the orthodontist, who knows what might have happened."

"Yeah, speaking of weird."

"Hmmm?"

"I mean I'm glad he was there to help. But you don't need to keep hanging out with him, do you?"

Ron frowns "Oh that little jerk!"

"What do you mean?" Kim asks.

"I'm just saying I think you're pretty cool, I don't think you need to keep hanging out with that lose…..Ow!" He cries out when Kim's right foot makes contact with his shin.

She turns away from the crying Walter with her nose in the air.

"Why didn't you tell me that happened?"

"I didn't think it was important."

"So what's wrong with being a loser, without losers there wouldn't be any winners! Hmmph, well don't worry girl, he wasn't the right one for you anyway."

They walk down the school hallway fingers intwined. Kim looks down at his hand. It's fading.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Kim's bedroom**

Bill works the joystick with one hand and types on a keyboard with another. "I'm getting the hang of it. I still don't understand why it all went wrong in the first place, but we're finding her quickly enough. Stick a fork in her, she's done. Hopefully there won't be too much peripheral eradication."

"Sooooooooooo?"

"So blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ron glares at the alarm clock on his night stand. It was three o clock in the morning and he wasn't anywhere close to getting any sleep.

"Rufus, do you think I'm going nuts?"

Rufus shakes his tiny head. "Uh-uh"

"I think I am." His eyes fix on a marking on his bedpost. Someone had scratched lettering into it. He ran his fingers across the K and R with a slash in between.

"Rufus do you know what this means?"

"Nope."

"Neither do I."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kim opens her eyes to discover herself tied to a giant cactus with Ron beside her. "I'm done, Ron. I'm just going to ride it out. Hiding is clearly not working."

He glances at her sadly. "Yeah."

"I want to enjoy the rest of my time with you."

Ron checks their surroundings. "This is where it all began. Ron Stepupable's greatest achievement."

"I'm really glad you decided to step up."

"Same here, I was so ready to crash and burn too. Man, I don't remember this cactus being so uncomfortable."

Kim sighs "Friends to something more; cliché but it works for me. Did you ever imagine us getting together, when you were little?"

"Well KP, I won't lie and say I never did…...But I did sort of know for sure we would be together forever somehow."

"It would be different. I think if we could just give it another try."

"Maybe we can. If you try your best you have to remember m……"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Seven year old Ron spit into his right palm and slapped his hands together. "Okay, let's do this."

"Ewwww no, I am not touching your hand."

Ron extends his hand to her. "KP, come on I'm leaving for Wannaweep tomorrow."

She grimaces. "But you spit in your hand. That is gross."

"Kim, this is how things are done, can't you be professional about this?"

"Uh, I've got a better idea." She advances forward and places her forehead against his. "Okay, so what's next?"

"Now we promise to never leave each other."

"Ron, you're only leaving for the summer."

"I know, this is just in case."

"In case of what?"

"Stuff, stuff happens all the time."

"Alright, I promise."

"I promise," Ron repeats. "You know from this angle I can see right up your nose."

Kim giggles and closes her eyes. "I'll never feel as normal with anyone else as I do with you."

"Same here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're weird, but I like you."

"R….Really?"

**This is it, Ron. It's going to be gone real soon.**

"So what do we do?"

"Enjoy it I guess."

"Hey, do you want to come play at my house? My dad's building me a tree house. Well, he's trying to build me a tree house. I'm sure he'll finish it when he gets out of the hospital." Ron shivers. "There are just some places a hammer shouldn't go."

"Uh…..ok."

**Next thing I remember, we were walking back to class together.**

"So do you like Pre-K?" Kim asks.

Ron shrugs. "It's fine, but I wouldn't want to do this everyday."

The world is drying out, turning into a husk.

**This is too sad. I've got a better idea for one last memory, something fun.**

Kim's eyes flutter open and she looks into Ron's face.

"It finally happened. She's dating that loser! Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable are dating?!" Bonnie laughs.

There is a deafening silence as the dozens of other students in the auditorium allow the news to settle in. A second later the gymnasium explodes with cheers and applause.

Ron looks around. "Hey, this is the junior prom."

"With a few differences."

The applause continues as the band on stage begins to play.

_You've been around for such a long time now, oh, maybe I could leave you but I don't know how. And why should I be lonely every night, when I could be with you, oh yes you make it right. And I don't listen to the guys who say, that you're bad for me and I should turn you away. Cause they don't know 'bout us, they've never heard of love._

"So do you want to dance?"

The auditorium is starting to disintegrate; a few of their fellow classmates have already disappeared.

"Natch." She takes her hand into his and he pulls her close.

_I get a feeling when I look at you, wherever you go now I wanna be there too. They say we're crazy but I just don't care, and if they keep on talkin', still they get nowhere. So I don't mind if they don't understand, when I look at you and you hold my hand. Cause they don't know 'bout us. They've never heard of love!_

Ron smirks "I really like it when we dance, the way you rest your chin on my shoulder and 'innocently' rub your thighs against me….I especially like that last part."

"Oh, you're a naughty boy aren't you?"

"Only when you want me to be KP."

_Do do-do-do….Why should it matter to us if they don't approve do do-do-do. We should just take our chances while we've got nothin' to lose!!_

No one notices when the roof of the auditorium is torn from the rest of the building and vanishes. Then all four walls begin to crumble into large amounts of dust-like substances.

Kim peeks up and she sees dried-out versions of all her interactions with Ron playing out in loops in the night sky.

Soon there is nothing left of the world but them and the prom band.

_I tell the others don't bother me, Cause when they look at you they don't see what I see_

"You had fun right?"

She nuzzles her cheek against his. "Of course"

He cups her face and runs his thumb against her bottom lip "Goodbye KP."

"I love you Ron."

She smiles. He tilts his head forward and she does the same. They kiss. It's tender and passionate. The scene fades.

_No, I don't listen to their wasted lines. Got my eyes wide open and I see the signs, Cause they don't know 'bout us. They've never heard of love!_

"Kim, find me in Middleton….try Bueno Nacho."

Everything goes black.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Kim's bedroom**

Bill watches the monitor. The last specks of images on the map of Kim's brain are

fading. Then they grow dark. Bill turns to Craig, who is staring out the window. It's now morning.

He yawns. "It's over."

Craig turns to him. "Okay."

They wordlessly begin the clean-up. Craig pulls the electrodes off of Kim's scalp. Bill packs up the machines, coils cable, and bags.

"That was a rough night," Craig tells Bill as they walk out the door.

'Tell me about, between this and the protesters, I think it's time I ask for a raise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Kim's bedroom: Later that morning**

Kim awakens. She stretches and glimpses around her apartment. It is neat, yet empty like when she went to sleep. She smiles contently, gets out of bed and heads into the bathroom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_June 2 I'm going to meet Ron again today. Things are going really well….he is unlike any other another guy I've ever met. He's even delaying his trip to Japan. I don't know how far this thing can go but how often do you find someone who understands you without you having to say a word._

WE HAVE BREAKING NEWS

Kim half heartedly looks up from her diary to the T.V.

THE ACTIVISTS WHO BROKE INTO LACUNA INDUSTRIES, STEALING HUNDREDS OF FILES HAVE SENT A MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC. THE GROUP KNOWN AS M.A.R OR "MEMORIES ARE FOREVER", SENT IN A DECLARATION DENOUNCING DR. MNEOMSYNE AS A THIEF WHO STEALS THE TRUTH. "PEOPLE HAVE TO KNOW" THEY SAY "IF NO ONE REMEMBERS? WHAT DOES IT DO TO THE W--

She switches the TV off. "I'm going to be late."

Before leaving her building, Kim opens her mail box and finds a large manila envelope stuffed inside of it. She opens the envelope which has a large file and a tape cassette inside.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I just… this guy, he kind of reminded me of Ron in a way. But there's really no substitute for the real thing. But by then it was too late, I found out he went through with this procedure…and now I'm thinking back on it and it just feels like it was all my fault. I took him for granted a lot…and I became distant because of the job, I snapped at him allot and ignored him sometimes, all that just played with his insecurities...I..…I know can't carry all of this alon…."

Kim stopped the tape when her phone rang. "Hello?"

Ron

"Did….did you get---"

"I got the same thing as you. I mean, I haven't even told anyone I've met you. Who would even know to do this?

"It's my voice on the tape I got. Rufus came clean, he says it's all true."

"But how could it be true? I've never even heard of any procedure like this. It's a joke. I'm….is it okay if I come over."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Ron's apartment:**

"And then, she got this job and she was surrounded by all these successful, handsome dudes with washboard abs. That's when my insecurities kicked in. I was depressed about my job and my intelligence, it came to a point where I couldn't see what she saw in me! It was insane. When I realized that a few weeks later she was already with this other guy and she seemed so happy…."

Ron pauses the tape.

"I called my friend Monique before I came over, it's all true."

Ron looks down at his file. "Says here you were bossy and a bit controlling. You became emotionally distant and constantly took me for granted."

Kim scans at her file. "It says you were overly jealous and suspicious. You sometimes abused my trust. And you let your paranoia run your life."

"That last part sounds like me."

"And you were constantly acting immature and childish."

"Says here you were always calling me immature and childish."

"It seems we were like a married couple, before the unpleasantness."

Ron laughs. "And I was so shy and inept around you. Isn't that hilarious?"

He watches as Kim contemplates his statement. "I think I should go."

"What?"

She gathers her belongings and starts to leave. "I better get out of here."

Ron grabs her gently by her arm. "Why are you leaving?"

"Don't you see, we broke up, and it hurt us so bad that we decided to erase our memories! There's a good chance it won't work out between us. Do you want to go through that pain again?"

"Okay, good point, but before the pain it sounded like we were crazy about each other. And maybe things could have worked out if I didn't go and do something so stupid. Listen to my voice, that sounds like a man whose slowing dying in the middle of the desert!"

"But….you think this will work…..again?"

"I'm going to be honest and say I don't know. But heck I'm willing to give it a shot. What do you think?"

"I don't know either."

"Well that's something we share right there."

She stares at him and considers this. "Our memories may be gone, but I guess we can create new ones."

"Absolutely…. I agree one hundred percent…I…can I ask you a question."

"Go ahead"

"Can I kiss you? Just for like a chemistry check"

"Why not, that should be old hat for us." She grabs him behind the neck, pulls him close and kisses him on the lips. Ron responds by hungrily kissing her back and spinning her around as they embrace.

"Okay," she gasps when the kiss broke.

"Right," he says clearly dazed.

She exhales. "Oh, I think I'll keep you around Ron."

* * *

A/N Well there you go. I hope it worked for you. I'm fully prepared for this story to bomb horribly (It started off pretty slow I know I'm sorry) but I consider this and the last two chapters of Middlewood to be some of my best stuff so I hope you enjoyed it. If the story confused you or you have any (nonscientific) question please feel free to ask. As always read and review 


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